We kick off our Project Milwaukee series on clean water by asking if we need to redefine our image of “pure." Then, why Gov. Tony Evers declared 2019 "the year of clean drinking water" in Wisconsin. We learn how perceptions affect whether people drink water from the tap. Plus, the joys of writing noir fiction using Milwaukee as the city that never sleeps.

Across Wisconsin, tens of thousands of people don’t trust the water that comes out of their tap — due to lead, agricultural runoff or industrial pollution.

To address water quality, there’s $70 million in Gov. Tony Evers’ budget and he's declared 2019 "the year of clean drinking water." However, some in the Republican state Legislature say too much of that money would go to Milwaukee to remove lead water lines, neglecting other areas of the state.

The issue of lead in drinking water isn’t limited to low income neighborhoods around Milwaukee. The housing stock and the water infrastructure in many city and suburban neighborhoods is old — and lead laterals serve modest houses and sprawling mansions alike.

Noir exposes the underbelly of a place. In film or fiction, characters live in the shadows, denizens of a night where every good intention is punished. Noir found its natural home in New York City and LA in the 1940s and '50s. Now, Milwaukee can lay claim to its own piece of the genre.

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